Forever (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale, #5)(75)

With legs like gelatin, Mina struggled to stand and make her way up the beach to the street. If she stayed still for too long, the omen would find her.

One foot in front of the other. Through pain and exhaustion, she moved, then walked, then jogged until she got up to the main road. She passed an abandoned vendor booth and grabbed a compact mirror from the display table. Had they run? Or were they too busy recording the battle on the Golden Gate Bridge?

Her side was aflame with pain. Mina pulled up her shirt to see a long black scratch on her stomach.

So Death had marked her after all.

Mina felt Death’s presence and knew he was drawing near. Picking up her pace, she ran down another street and turned. Nothing looked even remotely familiar until she collapsed, hitting the pavement on her knees. Then, she remembered the vision she’d had the night she drank Winona’s blue tea. She knew what was going to happen next, yet couldn’t fight the curiosity.

She had lost. Charlie—Charlie!—and her friends were either dead or soon-to-be dead. She’d failed them. Teague was only a memory. What did she have to lose? She wasn’t afraid to see her death coming.

“I’ll be with you soon,” she whispered, as she thought of both of her parents and Charlie, and of the one her heart lost. She opened the compact and scanned the area behind her.

Her mother was right. Only in hindsight can you see Death coming. Mina saw the omen’s pale white eyes glowing behind her. It snarled and growled, saliva dripping from its canines as it tensed to attack.

Mina took off her bag, set it on the ground beside her and closed her eyes, waiting. She let the mirror fall from her hands, and it shattered on the pavement.



***



She heard the growls, but the attack never came. She looked over her shoulder, seeing nothing.

But she heard everything. Including his voice.

Mina snatched up the broken mirror and held it up, desperately trying to see in the only intact piece left in the frame.

“Come on.” She turned and angled the mirror. And almost dropped it again.

Two of them appeared in the reflection, fighting to hold back her death. Her heart burst, and she couldn’t control the tears. Jared and Teague. She turned, searching for them with her eyes but saw only an empty street. Was it because they were both dead? Was that the only way to hold back Death?

Jared cried out as the omen bit his shoulder, and he lost his grip on the dog. The dog rolled off and faced Teague, who stood directly in front of her. Shielding her with his body. He held his arms wide open like she’d seen her mom do, and he said in a loud voice, “Death, you’ve been trying to claim me for over a century. Take me instead. For I no longer fear you. I am free.”

Jared yelled at his other half and dove for the dog, but the omen was too fast. He opened his mouth and lunged at Teague.

In a blast of black smoke, they both disappeared.

Mina screamed Teague’s name and stood, but the parking lot was empty. Only a black circle remained on the ground where Death had claimed Teague.

“No, no, no.” Mina stared at the blackened spot, vision blurring, and she clenched her hands. A tingle on her hand told her Jared was still there, although she couldn’t seem him. She closed her eyes and opened her hand. His fingers slid between hers and gave a gentle squeeze.

“Please don’t go. I can’t lose you. I need you.”

She felt another slight tingly sensation on her cheek and brought her hand up to touch the spot where Jared had kissed her. It felt like a goodbye kiss. This couldn’t be happening.

How could he even be here? She was losing him again.

“Jared, how are you here?”

“They’re here because of me,” Taz Clara spoke. Her eyes glistened with power. “The power I gleaned feeding from you and from the prince’s death afforded me enough strength to pull… memories from him as he died. What I learned surprised me. The prince, being separated for so long, created two distinct souls. They never fully fit together properly again. It was easy to sort through and find the largest group of memories. They came to me almost eagerly, so I took them with me. Strangely, both souls were attached to the memories, like they were a puzzle piece connecting the two princes.”

“And the omen?”

“Well, you saved Teague. I suppose sacrificing his soul for you was his way of saying thank you. Don’t be fooled, girl. Both souls loved you dearly. And you still have one part of him left, although I can’t sustain him in this form very long.”

The sprite who had once divided the prince waved her hand in front of Jared, and he became corporeal in front of Mina.

“Oh, Mina.” He hugged her to him.

She took a deep breath and let the scent of Jared roll over her while the streets around them rumbled with dangerous activity.

“I never thought I would get to hold you again. I’m sorry for not telling you how I felt sooner… and for all the things that the poison of that hate blade did to me—to us. It lied and used our deepest insecurities against us.”

“But the omen and my mother? You said you sent it, or Teague said that. I’m not sure what to believe anymore.” She buried her head against his shoulder and felt him nuzzle the top of her head.

“No, that was a lie. I control the Fae Reapers, but the Death Reaper or omen is controlled by the one who has the bone whistle.